Affordable Art Is in Style

Beverly Hills artist Judy Zimbert wants her creations to be available to everyone, regardless of income.

“You can have affordable art in your home, something that’s handmade,” she said. “Especially in the times we’re living, economically, it’s wonderful for buyers and wonderful for artists.” 

Oftentimes original works of art are far too expensive for the average buyer. But that trend is being challenged by the “affordable art” movement, of which Zimbert is taking part. She recently became a resident artist at Artspace Warehouse in Los Angeles, where you can purchase one-of-a-kind works starting at $80. Zimbert’s pieces are in the $300-$800 range.

Artspace Warehouse is owned by Beverly Hills resident Claudia Deutsch, whose family also operates galleries in Zurich and Cologne, Germany. A of the , Deutsch was introduced to Zimbert through a friend in Zimbert’s Beverly Hills reading group. Both are Beverly Hills Unified School District parents and Artspace Warehouse supported the recently with a fundraiser luncheon. 

“When people find artwork that they fall in love with, they don’t have to worry that it’s going to take their month’s salary,” Deutsch said of the pieces at her gallery. “They can actually afford it. They can fill their walls with original art instead of prints.” 

Deutsch is currently showing Zimbert’s “Wallpaper” series, which the latter describes as “still life paintings turned upside down.” Using oil paint on canvas or wood, each piece in the series focuses on one object that is painted multiple times from different angles on a solid background.

“Her pieces are really fabulous, fun twists on pop art mixed with German Expressionism,” Deutsch said of Zimbert. “Her choice of colors is unique. The repetitiveness of her series—she takes fun motifs and then puts them on the right color background and they really pop.”

Zimbert said that her first "Wallpaper" piece “felt like it painted itself.” After years of studying not just German Expressionism, but also the works of Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh and Lucian Freud under the direction of prominent portraitist David Leffel, she considers her "Wallpaper" series a breakthrough in creating her own artistic vision. With the support of Deutsch, Zimbert can share that vision with others.

“One of the things I love about Artspace Warehouse is seeing everyday art lovers exhibit a desire to own art and be able to seriously consider collecting,” Zimbert said.

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